Kukla's Korner Hockey

Entries with the tag: ev zug

No matter the kaleidoscopic jersey, Metropolit is having a blast in Switzerland on his 16th professional team, having signed on for two years.

He’s earning probably half the face value of last season’s $1-million Canadiens salary, but consider: not a euro of his pay is going into escrow, two of his three children are enrolled without cost in a prestigious English-language international school, he and his wife, Michlyn, are driving new BMWs provided for free, parking them in the driveway of a comfortable rent-free condo, and he pays no taxes.

“What a decision I made, coming here. I’m glad I didn’t stick around in North America and wait,” Metropolit said. “It’s the best choice I’ve probably made in my life.

“It’s caught me by surprise, what guys are signing for over there,” he added, watching from afar as the NHL’s dwindling pool of free agents agrees to salary-cap-squeezed contracts.